In a devastating incident on Tuesday afternoon, a passenger bus plunged down a mountain in the central Philippines, claiming the lives of seventeen people, including a Kenyan national.

The tragic accident occurred on a treacherous stretch known locally as the “killer curve” in Hamtic municipality, Antique province.

Governor Rhodora Cadiao expressed concern about the dangerous nature of the road, labeling it a “killer curve” and calling for its abandonment after this being the second such incident involving a Ceres bus company vehicle.

The provincial disaster agency head, Roderick Train, cited the 30-meter deep heavily forested ravine as a contributing factor to the severity of the accident.

Four Kenyan nationals were among the passengers, with seven individuals, including one Kenyan, in critical condition.

The crash site, described as “accident-prone,” witnessed a mechanical failure according to witnesses, leading to the loss of control by the driver and a potential brake failure.

Governor Cadiao visited survivors in the hospital, promising government assistance for medical and funeral expenses.

The search and rescue operation concluded, with authorities now focusing on retrieving the bus from the challenging terrain.

Deadly road accidents remain a common occurrence in the Philippines, often attributed to rule violations, poorly maintained vehicles, and overloading.

As the affected region mourns, there are renewed calls for improved road safety measures to prevent further tragedies on perilous mountain routes.

A Kakamega woman has admitted to murdering her husband after he disconnected their solar panel from her house and fitting it in her co-wife house.

Before the High Court in Kakamega, Joy Trizar Shitubi pleaded guilty to the charge of man-slaughtering her husband on October 26, 2017 at Emachoni village.

“I stabbed my husband Joseph Waboko Mbayi on the material date without malice aforethought,” said Shitubi who had entered a plea bargain deal with the prosecution to plead guilty for manslaughter instead of the more serious murder charge.

Narrating her ordinance, Shitubi explained she was preparing food for dinner when her husband, Mbayi came and disconnected the solar panel from her house and took it to the first wife’s house.

According to her, her husband later returned back and grabbed her by the neck and started strangling her when she protested against the action of snatching the solar panel from her and could not reveal where its charger was.

“I struggled to come out of the strangling but he hit me in the face and tried to grab the knife I was using to peel tomatoes from my hand,” she said. “Amidst the struggle I unfortunately happened to stab him with the knife in the chest fatally injuring him.”

Meanwhile, the sister to Mbayi, Ester, who witnessed the incident claims that her brother was provoked to start the fight when her sister-in-law could not reveal where she had kept the charger to the solar panel.

She confirmed that her brother hit Joy on the face with a fist and a struggle ensued between them leading to the fatal stab. The first wife said Mbayi went to her co-wife’s house and disconnected the solar plate that had initially been installed in her house. She added that after her husband returned the solar panel back to her house and went back to Shitubi’s house to collect the charger.

“I later heard screams of a child coming from the house and when I went, I found our husband lying on the floor with blood coming from his chest,” she said.

When cop Jael Kwamboka, from Mahondo Administration Police Post arrested Shitubi as Mbayi was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. According to autopsy report, the cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.